December 2004
12/20/04 ATF Publishes Notice of Annual List of Explosive Materials - Pursuant to 18 U.S.C.(d) and 27 CFR 555.23, the Department must publish and revise at least annually in the Federal Register a list of explosives determined to be within the coverage of 18 U.S.C. 841 et seq. The list covers not only explosives, but also blasting agents and detonators, all of which are defined as explosive materials in 18 U.S.C. 841(c). This notice publishes the 2004 List of Explosives Materials. The list becomes effective upon publication of this notice on December 20, 2004.

12/17/04 PA DEP Issues Sweeping Changes to Blasting Reg's - Without notice of rulemaking, PA DEP announced a series of changes to PA Blasting Regulations including a requirement for 15" hoods on magazine locks, two sets of perimeter barriers to include concertina razor wire, site inspections every 24 hours, removal of axles for Type 5 magazines, and more. Despite only two actual security breaches with respect to commercial explosives of the nine incidents cited in DEP's announcement, the measure is being portrayed as an emergency measure which allows the agency to avoid the normal industry comment period. Only due to the insistence of our members at a meeting on December 7, was input from industry allowed at all, and a time period of only seven days was given for responses. No notice was provided by DEP to licensees and other stakeholders to respond. ISEE emailed and mailed more than 300 industry members in PA overnight to help get the word out.

12/08/04 RSPA Delays effective date of final rule that clarifies the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations to loading, unloading, and storage operations. - The Rule is delayed from January 1, 2005 until June 1, 2005. On October 30, 2003, RSPA published a final rule (68 FR 61905) to clarify the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations to loading, unloading, and storage operations. RSPA is delaying the effective date of the final rule from January 1, 2005 to June 1, 2005. DATES: The effective date of the final rule amending 49 CFR parts 171, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177 and 178 published at 68 FR 61905 on October 30, 2003 and delayed at 69 FR 30588 on May 28, 2004, is further delayed until June 1, 2005. The final rule extends to to June 1, 2005 the final rule under HM-223; and, de facto, the final rule rejects a number of requests to tie the final rule under HM-229 (Incident Reporting) to the same effective date. The substantially revised incident reporting requirements become effective on January 1, 2005.

12/01/04 RSPA Issues Electronic Filing Tool for Hazmat Incident Reports - This programming tool can be used to report incidents starting in 2005.

November 2004
11/30/04 The Right to Refuse - Article from Rock Products Magazine Confirms Right Not to Answer Questionnaires - Gary Bangs, Chief of ATF's Branch of Explosives Industry Programs is quoted in this article as saying (with respect to the Questionnaires and Checklists) that industry members, "...don't have to answer any of those questions."

11/30/04 Hazardous Materials Safety Permits (HM Safety Permits) - Starting JANUARY 1, 2005, the HM Safety Permitting Program will start phasing in, requiring carriers of certain hazardous materials to hold an HM Safety Permit issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

11/23/04 MSHA Publishes Technical Corrections to Final Rule for electrical safety standards for electric motor-driven mine equipment and accessories and high-voltage longwall mining systems used in underground coal mines.

11/17/04 The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that the fee for fingerprint-based background checks for drivers hauling hazardous materials would be about $100 per person - and that implementing the program could lead as many as 20% of existing commercial driver license Hazmat endorsement holders to forgo seeking permission to carry dangerous goods. TSA said the loss of some of the Hazmat driver population should be mitigated by the fact that "a significant portion of the [Hazmat endorsement] - holder population transports hazardous materials rarely or infrequently," according to the agency's Federal Register notice. However, Cliff Harvison, president of National Tank Truck Carriers, said the situation could prove to be significant for his sector of the industry. "[Because of the rule], fewer drivers will opt to apply for or renew their Hazmat endorsement, and that's not good news for the tank truck sector," he said.

October 2004
10/01/04 ATF Adopts Invasive Inspection Questionnaires..... ATF has recently adopted four new lengthy, highly invasive and burdensome questionnaires as part of their magazine inspection process. The questionnaires contain a series of brand new interrogation-style questions designed to collect information presumably to enforce civil regulations. Besides the obvious civil liberty, privacy, authority, proprietary, and jurisdictional issues that immediately come to mind, a great number of man hours are required for employees and principals to complete the costly interrogation process involved.

September 2004
9/30/04 Congress Votes to Keep Current HOS Rules..... An eight-month extension to federal highway funding was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush yesterday. H.R. 5183 includes a provision to keep the current hours-of-service (HOS) rules for truck drivers in place for up to one full year. It will keep the existing HOS rules in effect until September 30, 2005 or when the FMCSA issues new rules. The original rules issued on April 28, 2003 with a deadline of January 4, 2004.
The current hours of service rules let a driver drive for up to eleven hours within a 14-hour time period after 10 hours off. See Section 7, paragraph (f) of HR 5183 for the extension....

9/24/04 ISEE and Industry Coalition Meets With ATF.....Washington, DC - In September ISEE Executive Director, Jeff Dean, met as part of an industry coalition with a group of ATF representatives led by Assistant Director Lew Raden to discuss a security checklist that had been used by inspectors beginning in late June.

ATF released the security checklist as part of its Explosives Threat Assessment and Prevention Strategy (ETAPS) presumably at the request of the U.S. Attorney General. The checklist, called "Be Secure", was released to several explosives industry groups and contains recommendations, other than the requirements covered by ATF regulations, that companies and individuals should take to voluntarily strengthen security at explosives storage sites. The checklist recommendations are voluntary even though the ATF indicates that their inspectors are using the list during current regulatory inspections.

Discussions included possible ways for the industry to begin working together with ATF to develop recommended security practices through a series of industry working meetings. Also discussed briefly was ATF's use of a series of criminal detailed investigative questionnaires in their storage magazine inspection process. ISEE will obtain copies and post them to it's website as soon as they are available. If you have encountered the use of these questionnaires by ATF inspectors, please take the time to email Jeff Dean ISEE at dean@en.com to let us know about your experience.

9/10/04 PA DEP Launches eBlasting..... DEP's Bureau of Information Technology has launched eBlasting, an on-line version of DEP's blasting activities permit application. The web-based application allows licensed blasters to electronically submit Blasting Activity Permits and Blasting Activity Permits by Rule to the Bureau of Mining and Reclamation.

August 2004
8/11/04 ATF Co-Sponsors Ammonium Nitrate Security Program.... Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Joins with The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) to Launch "America's Security Begins with You" Campaign.

8/10/04 Mining Association Says Kerry Plan would Export Thousands of High paying Mining Jobs.... a statement issued by the National Mining Association estimates that a recent proposal by Senator John Kerry to impose an eight percent fee on minerals operations in the West would cost between 18,000 and 44,000 jobs.

July 2004
7/30/04 Department of Homeland Security and the FBI Issue Information Bulletin.... on Potential Threat to Homeland Using Heavy Transport Vehicles.

7/30/04 Industry coalition wants withdrawal of ATF checklist.... ISEE has joined with other associations to form an industry coalition to challenge ATF's authority to prescribe a "voluntary" checklist that contains items that may be construed as being mandatory, as ATF inspectors and agents do not have the authority to enforce items in a "checklist" that are not already part of the existing framework of ATF regulations.

Such a checklist or other methods used by ATF or any other federal agency to impose new regulations without complying with the Administrative Procedure Act are not appropriate and will be challenged by industry when released.

The coalition is requesting that the recently disseminated "security checklist" be withdrawn and that ATF inspectors restrict their facility oversight visits to what the law, regulations and their training allow. In the meantime, the coalition has asked for the opportunity to sit down with ATF to cooperatively discuss security issues, concerns and appropriate remedies.

7/19/04 ATF Announces Release of Security Checklist.... ATF has recommended the new Security Checklist to members for the industry. The Security Checklist is a list of Voluntary Actions for individuals in the explosives industry to use to make their businesses more secure.

07/07/04 ATF Open Letter To All Federal Firearms Licensees Concerning Black and Smokeless Powder.....ATF open letter to all Federal firearms licensees encouraging voluntary safeguards and reporting of suspicious activities regarding explosives that they handle such as black and smokeless powder.

07/01/04 DOT's Final rule on Hazardous Materials Safety Permits as it was published in the June 30th Federal Register.

June 2004
06/21/04 Secretary Ridge Announces New Port Security Improvements....New security measures are being implemented across the United States providing for safer ports in America, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced today. With the implementation of these international standards, in advance of the July 1st deadline, the U.S. is better able to harden the port's physical infrastructure, verify the security of individual vessels before they approach a U.S. port, and better restrict access to the port area.

Secretary Ridge discussed multi-layer cargo and port security strategies at America's busiest seaport, the Port of Los Angeles, saying, "Over 80 percent of world trade travels by sea. By taking a layered, cooperative and balanced approach to strengthening the international maritime system, we are not only further securing our country, we are also protecting U.S. economic interests and the global economy."

May 2004
05/17/04 Truscott Sworn In As ATF Director....Attorney General John Ashcroft swore in Carl J. Truscott as the sixth Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on May 17, 2004. Truscott, who began his tenure as ATF director April 18, took the oath at the Department of Justice in a private ceremony attended by his family and invited guests.

05/03/04 ISEE Abstracts from the 30th Annual Conference Proceedings now available in the searchable technical information database....A summary of papers addressing explosives, vibration, blasting and drilling can be downloaded in PDF format.....
Don't miss the Call for Papers deadline of June 10, 2004 for the 31st Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.

05/01/04 Department of Justice, ATF Issues Notice of Information Collection regarding the requirement that manufacturers of explosives materials place marks of identification on the materials manufactured.... The Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has submitted an information collection request to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for "sixty days" until July 2, 2004.....

April 2004
04/28/04 ATF Veteran Selected As Bureau's Deputy Director. (Washington, DC) - Edgar A. Domenech, who led the New York Field Division's recovery after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the World Trade Towers, has been selected as the deputy director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ATF Director Carl J. Truscott announced today....

04/13/04 Mazzella Blasting Mat is now under new ownership. The company name is now T.M. International, LLC. They will be providing the same products and services that Mazzella Blasting Mat has built its reputation on in the industry. For more information, contact T.M. International, PO Box 10930, Fairfield, NJ 07004. Tel: (201) 532-4393; Fax: (973) 808-8259.

04/01/04 Attorney General Ashcroft Appoints Carl J. Truscott as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.....

04/01/04 The State of West Virginia has issued new blasting regulations that include licensing and shot reporting requirements.....

March 2004
03/31/04 ATF Publishes Annual List of Explosives Subject to Law.....The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives published a notice in the Federal Register today containing the annual list of explosives that are subject to federal law and implementing regulations.....

03/12/04 Distinguished Service Award Winner and Hall of Fame Inductee Announced at ISEE's 30th Annual Conference....

03/12/04 Security Plan Guide Posted on The Blasters Toolkit....
ISEE Members can access the guide to developing an effective Security Plan for the highway transportation of hazardous materials....

03/04/04 Enforcement of New Hours-of-Service Rules Begins; Truck Driver Education to Continue.....
Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta announced that state officials are being asked to begin enforcement of the new hours-of-service rules starting March 4. The hours-of-service regulations put safety limits on the number of hours commercial drivers can work and operate trucks each day....

February 2004
02/22/04 Securing Explosives - A Prime Responsibility of Industry, an ISEE Explosives Security Committee Presentation.....
Download the PDF file which has been posted in the Blasters Toolkit as a service for members of the Society. Designed for small group presentations as part of ISEE's effort to improve security in the commercial explosives industry......

January 2004
01/30/04 ISEE introduces the Blasters Toolkit.....
A valuable new service for members only is now available online. This toolkit is a work in progress - a collection of forms, checklists, formulas, tables and guides intended to be useful in day to day operations....